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How do I clean my chips?

One simple but very effective way to clean a microchip is to flush an alkaline solution through the channels. A solution of 1 M sodium hydroxide in water works well but a lower concentration might also be sufficient. If traces of the cleaning solution remaining inside the chip after cleaning and rinsing with water pose a problem then ammonia can be used instead. Note that these solutions are caustic and can cause damage to e.g. the polyimide coating of fused silica capillaries. Also plastic parts should not be exposed to very alkaline solutions.

In order to aid in the removal of particulate matter, a water bath with ultrasonic agitation can be used, preferably while flushing a watery solution through the channels using a Fluidic connect kit.

Glass microchips can be heated (e.g. >400° C) causing any organic material adsorbed on the glass surface to degrade. Try to use lower temperatures first because burning the content could make it stick. Make sure you only heat the glass chip and not the plastic parts around it.

Concentrated sulphuric acid works well to dissolve organic material such as fibres which are difficult to remove with alkaline solutions, but because of the extremely corrosive nature of the material a cleaning procedure is not so easily implemented.

Please note that chips that were coated by Micronit have different guidelines for cleaning.

There's no flow in my setup. How do I fix this?

Is your setup clogged with dirt or fully blocked?Chips can get clogged, for example when they’ve been used before and have not been cleaned the right way. If your chip is clogged with dirt, check our document on the prevention of clogging and/or read the answer to question number one on this page (regarding the cleaning of chips). Clogged chips often do let some flow through the chip, which makes it easier to identify the issue as clogging. If there is no flow at all it’s more likely that the flow path is not connected correctly.

Pinpoint the issueWe recommend walking through the full track of the fluid flows: check if your syringe or pump is not blocked, if your tubing is actually hollow and if your filters let fluids pass through. Then check if your chip has inlet and outlet holes and if these are positioned so that the fluids can go through the chip. The easiest way to do this is to disassemble the setup and check if fluids come out of the pump, then connect the tubing and check if fluids can come through. Keep on adding parts and checking if the fluids go through. This way you can pinpoint the problem.

If the problem remainsIf the problem cannot be solved after following the above-mentioned steps, then take some pictures or make a short movie of your setup and send this, together with the description or name of your chip, to Micronit. We will gladly assist you in identifying the issue.